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He seemed like a decent enough guy. Decent films and really never heard a bad word about the guy. What a horse shit way to go though..fucking horrific. So, what are the odds a wrongful death lawsuit comes of this? If his pal was driving a $500,000 GT, there's money to be had.

I just can't understand why people are so negative about people who care when a celebrity dies. Of course people are dying all over the world, but I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD THEIR NAMES. It's a stupid fucking thing to mention when people start talking about celebrity deaths, in the same way it's fucking stupid to talk about children dying in Darfur when people get caught up in some social issue.

It can get carried away and annoying, but so what, so can people counter-complaining. So do the shitty jokes that get told immediately after every celebrity joke like Amy Winehouse and 'she should have gone to rehab' jokes. Like, holy shit every single person thought of that joke the second she died, it's not funny, shut the fuck up. That shit seemingly never gets called out, and it's often just as widespread and even more obnoxious than people who are just faux-grieving.

Not at all. I try to care on some level whenever any life ends because I'm a bit scared of what happens if I continue my previous slides into apathy, but that's really something else entirely.

Yet you judged him really harshly. That's the basic point I wanted to make. A human being died and you immediately took the opportunity to make nasty assumptions and speak ill of the dead.

Now, I'm certainly not holier than thou, I've done the same thing many times and may well do it again. But I recognize it as a trait I don't like in myself very much.

If I still used Facebook I might be making posts like yours right now. So yeah, not trying to attack you. I just felt the need to raise a dissenting voice.

I honestly don't feel bad about having a negative opinion of a celebrity :P I'm not gonna go to places where their fans hang out and bash them, or really even remotely go out of my way to talk about them, but when it's brought up, so what? If was being harshly judgmental of someone I know, I'd want to be alerted of it, but I guess I honestly just don't care much about people who are famous for entertainment unless their particular art has truly affected my life or moved me. But way to be a contrarian - who do you think you are, Llamas of 2007??

Originally Posted by WebDudette

I don't really care about Paul Walker, this forum just has a tradition that I intend to uphold.

I just can't understand why people are so negative about people who care when a celebrity dies. Of course people are dying all over the world, but I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD THEIR NAMES. It's a stupid fucking thing to mention when people start talking about celebrity deaths, in the same way it's fucking stupid to talk about children dying in Darfur when people get caught up in some social issue.

It can get carried away and annoying, but so what, so can people counter-complaining. So do the shitty jokes that get told immediately after every celebrity joke like Amy Winehouse and 'she should have gone to rehab' jokes. Like, holy shit every single person thought of that joke the second she died, it's not funny, shut the fuck up. That shit seemingly never gets called out, and it's often just as widespread and even more obnoxious than people who are just faux-grieving.

Not actually targeted at anyone, just trailing off on a rant.

I find all this shit equally annoying. I don't think people should be just as upset when someone they've never heard of dies, but I find it annoying and extremely fake when people act all upset when a celebrity dies. The jokes are fantastically bad, as well. And yeah, talking about how sad you are for the people affected by the most recent hurricane is generally just as fake. It's an attempt at seeming caring, empathetic, etc when it's clearly for show and not genuine. You're not lying in your bed, unable to fall asleep because you feel so sad about Paul Walker or Darfur or whatever. However, as annoying as all this is, I generally just leave it alone cause it's not really a big deal and it'll never go away. This is just how people are, I guess.

It's hard to know for sure when people are being genuine or fake though.

I suspect Walker's death actually will trouble me as I lay awake trying to force myself to sleep. A young death is always a potent reminder of mortality and, perhaps, all the more so when it happens to a celebrity who sort of usually project this sense of invulnerability and permanence. If you know what I mean. And then I probably will find myself sparing a thought for his daughter who must be going through a horrific time right now and be drowning in unwanted attention. She can't even just escape into an online world because everyone everywhere ever is talking about her dead dad.

And yet at other times I can be extremely callous and I don't really know what I'm using as a deciding factor. *shrug*

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.” – Bill Hicks

I suspect Walker's death actually will trouble me as I lay awake trying to force myself to sleep. A young death is always a potent reminder of mortality and, perhaps, all the more so when it happens to a celebrity who sort of usually project this sense of invulnerability and permanence. If you know what I mean.

That's an extremely different thing, though. You (and they) are not lying awake in bed because they are so sad that Paul Walker died. They react as though their best friend's mom died, which is something that could actually cause a person grief because they are genuinely sad that person is now forever gone from their lives, or that someone they genuinely care a lot about has had their life forever changed and is torn up. But these people are not upset inside because Paul Walker is gone from their lives. Your reason for being upset is purely selfish, twisted around back at you - it's totally human and natural, and we all do that kind of thing, but let's not pretend it's something it's not - it is not grief for Paul Walker, but worry for yourself.

And then I probably will find myself sparing a thought for his daughter who must be going through a horrific time right now and be drowning in unwanted attention. She can't even just escape into an online world because everyone everywhere ever is talking about her dead dad.

Yes, it sucks for her on one hand, but her father chose a life in the spotlight. If you do that, your kids will naturally be sucked into it and they can't really avoid it. Such is the nature of celebrity. Every single child whose parent or parents are/were famous deals with tons of attention, whether they want it or not - and when something bad happens to their parents, or their parents do something bad, the kids are stuck dealing with it. That'd be more of an argument against the celebrity culture our society embraces, rather than against people having negative opinions about celebrities.

I think grief is always selfish. It's always about your own pain/loss. That's what grief is. You don't feel it for the person who died. They don't give a fuck that they're dead. They're not suffering. You don't feel grief for them. You feel it for yourself at the pain of your loss.

I wouldn't feel grief if my friend's mother died because she means nothing to me. I would feel sorry for my friend and secretly annoyed because it would be an inconvenience for me. But certainly not grief. Grief is reserved entirely for when I've personally suffered a loss. It's always selfish.

And no, of course I am not going to grieve for Paul Walker in any way. That would be pretty weird. But his death has annoyingly made me think even more about death than I usually do. His death has troubled me a little. But I don't believe this is any more or less selfish than true grief. And I genuinely feel sorry for his kid. This is different from the normal drawbacks of fame. Very different.

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.” – Bill Hicks

After a moment of head-scratching I had assumed that's what you meant to say.

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.” – Bill Hicks